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This catalog site is designed so that it can be searched by keyword, collection, type of instrument, and date. It contains information on instruments in the possession of Duke University, with the exception of modern practice and performance pianos.
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Contact Info
Dr. Brenda Neece, DPhil (Oxon.)
Curator, DUMIC
Box 90665
Durham, NC 27708-0665
USA
Tel: 919-660-3320
Fax: 919-660-3301
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Bradley Simmons
Bradley Simmons, a native of New York City, began playing Afro-Cuban and African percussion when he was 9 years old. He traveled throughout the City seeking out percussion teachers from Haiti, Cuba and Africa in an effort to enhance his understanding of these rhythmic forms, styles and techniques. Bradley soon became a sought after Conguero and shekere player and a link in the chain of the oral traditions of Afro-Cuban and African music. Simmons has always sought out Afro-Cuban and African percussion in its purest forms, never deviating from long-standing traditions in rhythm and playing techniques. Simmons’ talents have been heard on Broadway in plays such as Timbuktu with Eartha Kitt and Melba Moore, Billy Wilson’s version of Guys and Dolls starring Robert Guillume, and Reggae with Calvin Lockhart and Philip Michael Thomas. He has also appeared in nightclubs with Eartha Kitt, Gregory, Maurice Hines, Miles Jaye, and Oba Babatunde. He has recorded and played with The Fatback Band and with drummer Norman Connors. Simimons has made television appearances, including performances on The Mike Douglas Show and the Cerebral Palsy Telethon. He directed his own show, Cultural Journey: The Elements of Percussion, at The National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, GA (1990) and Durham, NC (1996).
Simmons is the former Music Director of the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble of Durham, NC, and has taught throughout the United States, including the Larocque Bey School of Dance and the Gloria Jackson School of Dance in NYC. He has taught percussion classes and drum clinics at academic institutions including Berklee College of Music (Boston MA), Texas Southern University (Houston, TX), Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) and North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC). Currently, Simmons directs music ensembles at Duke, where he teaches both West African music and history. His classes focus on djembe, songba, djun-djun, and kenkeni. He also teaches Afro-Cuban percussion classes off campus. He is the leader of the percussion ensemble, The Elements of Percussion, touring around the nation.